State BJP president alleges CPI(M) attack
AGARTALA: BJP workers on Saturday clashed with police as they tried to gherao the Chief Minister’s official residence here to protest the damage to the party state unit president’s vehicle the previous night, police said.
Three BJP workers and four police personnel, including a woman constable, received injuries in the incident.
“The clash took place when police tried to disperse the BJP supporters, who were trying to lay siege to the CM’s residence,” a police official said.
Earlier, according to him, around 150 BJP workers, led by party leaders Jawahar Saha and Subal Bhowmik, brought out a protest rally in the city and then tried to gherao the official residence of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.
The police official said that late Friday night a truck carrying the members of a local club hit the vehicle of state BJP President Biplab Deb. The vehicle was parked in front of Deb’s house.
When the driver of the vehicle protested the incident, the club members got into an altercation with him during which the bodyguard of the BJP chief fired one round from his service revolver.
Deb, who was inside his house during the incident, told the media and police that the club members are supporters of the ruling CPI-M and they tried to attack him.
Condemning the incident, Trinamool Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman demanded more security for the BJP’s state party chief.
Terming the incident as “bogus”, CPI-M state Secretary Bijan Dhar said that the incident took place when local club members were returning in a truck after the immersion of the Goddess Durga idol.
“How the CPI-M supporters came in the scene? The BJP is making a trivial road mishap a major issue to get political mileage, as they and other opposition parties have no issue against the Left Front,” Dhar, a CPI-M central committee member, told reporters.
Meanwhile, Tripura BJP president Biplab Kumar Deb has alleged that he was attacked by ruling CPI(M) cadres at his rented residence in Agartala, following which two youths were arrested.
Deb alleged that the youths were CPI-M cadres and that they attempted to enter his house after hitting his vehicle.
He said the attackers also manhandled his personal security officer, who fired two rounds in the air to disperse the gathering.
The firing, he claimed, happened “a few minutes” before the police reached the spot.
“I also called up the district superintendent of police, who immediately rushed to the spot with additional forces,” the BJP leader said.
Terming the attack as “pre-planned”, Deb said on Oct 11, a group of CPI-M cadres led by Shantanu Bhattacharya, a local committee member of CPI-M, had attacked him in Krishnanagar but he was rescued by Tripura State Rifles.
“Despite a written complaint to police the next day, no action was taken against the attack. Had there been any action taken by the police on the incident, the last night’s attack would not have happened,” he said.
Bhartiya Janata Party National President Amit Shah and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh have been informed of the incident, Deb added.
It may be mentioned that recently a BJP worker was killed in another CPI(M) ruled state, Kerala. The 25-year-old BJP worker was hacked to death in Kannur. (PTI)